By an overwhelming margin, Virginia conservatives picked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich as the man they favor to be the Republican nominee for President in 2008.

After four hours of voting and 146 total ballots cast, attendees at the Virginia Conservative Convention handed Gingrich an easy victory over runner-up Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.

Gingrich won 31% of the vote, more than double Romney's 14%. Finishing in a tie for third were Senators Sam Brownback (R.-Kan.) and John McCain (R.-Ariz.).

The straw poll was sponsored by HUMAN EVENTS and the Virginia Conservative Action PAC, which hosted the conference at the Richmond Convention Center. Presidential candidates addressed the crowd in taped videos, which aired before voting commenced.

The Virginia ballot resembled the straw poll conducted by National Journal's Hotline at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, held in Memphis, Tenn., in March.

Complete results are printed below. Nine ballots were disqualified and no write-ins were allowed.

	        Votes	Percent

Newt Gingrich	45	31%

Mitt Romney	21	14%

Sam Brownback	18	12%

John McCain	18	12%

Mike Huckabee	11	8%

Rudy Giuliani	10	7%

Duncan Hunter	6	4%

Bill Frist	4	3%

Chuck Hagel	2	1%

George Pataki	2	1%